From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=unavailable autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Path: border2.nntp.dca1.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!usenet.blueworldhosting.com!feeder01.blueworldhosting.com!reality.xs3.de!news.jacob-sparre.dk!loke.jacob-sparre.dk!pnx.dk!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: "Randy Brukardt" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: GNAT GPL is not shareware Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2015 17:36:36 -0600 Organization: Jacob Sparre Andersen Research & Innovation Message-ID: References: <87bnmetex4.fsf@ludovic-brenta.org> <4ae7f0d5-d681-4be9-95bc-b5e789b3ad40@googlegroups.com> <87tx06rve6.fsf@ludovic-brenta.org> <87lhlirpk0.fsf@ludovic-brenta.org> <79f3eff7-2b45-40ae-af94-fa9a17426d82@googlegroups.com> <87bnmd8mg2.fsf@ixod.org> <19cf9bc2-f8b9-4735-b427-7b070dda59da@googlegroups.com> <72ede803-e2e9-4e21-a415-457374bef87d@googlegroups.com> <1337ca4c-a19e-468e-bc07-5412438f662b@googlegroups.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: rrsoftware.com X-Trace: loke.gir.dk 1420673799 23494 24.196.82.226 (7 Jan 2015 23:36:39 GMT) X-Complaints-To: news@jacob-sparre.dk NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2015 23:36:39 +0000 (UTC) X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.5931 X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Original X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.6157 Xref: number.nntp.giganews.com comp.lang.ada:191768 Date: 2015-01-07T17:36:36-06:00 List-Id: "David Botton" wrote in message news:1337ca4c-a19e-468e-bc07-5412438f662b@googlegroups.com... >> That's not really fair. Both Atego (with ObjectAda) and RRS (with >> Janus/Ada) >> tried to market low-cost compilers for the mass market, but neither made >> money. > >You missed my point, which was fair. There is _no_ low-cost compiler >market. That bottomed >out already before OA and RRS started to market their products to a >non-existing market. >That market is not going to materialize again ever either. RRS started low-cost compilers in 1984, long before GNAT existed. But whatever. But if there is no market, then there is no point in making a compiler at all, because giving it away will not pay the bills. Outreach in the form of demos, GPL versions, etc is cool, but not if it cannablizes your main revenue stream (whatever that is). So I'm not quite sure what your point was. Which is probably why I missed it. :-) ... >> Which makes it problematical, as some sort of support is required (at a >> minimum, packaging and fixing of packaging, which can take an amazing >> amount >> of time). > >A long time ago, people realized that open source changed where the dollars >are in software. No, open source eliminated all of the dollars from software. There are dollars in support of various sorts, some dollars from people who don't know better, and some dollars from mega-corps building dedicated systems, and that's about it. And all of those things require people skills that many software developers don't have and can't realistically acquire (I suspect that many developers are borderline autistic). But people that have those sorts of skills have many opportunities better than software. So it's hard to imagine who will be filling these jobs. And the people who traditionally have built software are unemployed or underemployed. (Of course, most jobs will be automated in the coming years, so that is going to be a growing problem for society to deal with.) > The vendors that can't see beyond compiler sales haven't survived (per se) > and those > in large support contracts are floating, but not swimming if that is their > only real product. There's little of value beyond software sales (and I don't consider "maintenance contracts" a-la AdaCore any different than sales). Most remaining jobs are glorified marketing jobs that society would be better off without. Even cloud-based stuff is just a vessel for marketers, criminals, and governments to invade your privacy and steal your money (I'll let you figure out which are doing what ;-). I'm sure it's possible to make money from software, because it's possible for con men to make money from nothing, but whether its possible to make money and retain one's ethics is highly dubious. Randy.